Constructive meeting with Trump: GM CEO

FILE- In this Jan. 10, 2017, file photo, General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra speaks about the financial outlook of the automaker in Detroit. General Motors will announce a $1 billion investment in its factories that will create or keep around 1,000 jobs, a person briefed on the matter said Monday, Jan. 16.Photo/Paul Sancya, File)Washington, The chairwoman and CEO of General Motors has described her meeting with US President Donald Trump and a group of executives of major corporations as "constructive", a media report said.

"I'm pleased to have been part of a very constructive discussion on how we can all work together on policies that support a strong and competitive US economy," said Mary Barra in a statement.

After the meeting, GM announced it will invest $47 million in two production plants in the US "to prepare for future product programs".

GM added that "the combined investments will result in 230 retained jobs in the US".

The investments would be made in plants at Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Bay City, Michigan.

The investment of $27 million in Spring Hill - which currently produces the Cadillac XT5 and Buick Acadia - will allow the plant to assemble a "right-hand-drive crossover for export to Australia as the Holden Acadia".

The investment of $20 million in the Bay City plant, which produces components for the motors of the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands, would allow it to start up future engine programmes.

Like other car manufacturers, GM has been slammed in the past by Trump for producing vehicles in Mexico and then exporting them to the US.

Since Ford announced the cancellation of a $1.6 billion investment in Mexico, and other manufacturers like Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Toyota committed themselves to invest in the US, Trump has temporarily withheld his criticism of carmakers.

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